Screw-feed gauging and sorting machine



Feb.' 18, 1947.v i s. l. sNooK lE1' AL. 42,4l59i70 SCREW FEED GAUGING AND SORTING MACHINE I Y Filed Dec. 1o, 1945 f INVENToRs I SAMUEL smnmc Lame NAvnKEN AgA BHARLEE E.. KEHQE,

ATTORNEY 7,

Patented Feb. 18, 1947 SCREW-FEED GAUGING AND SORTING MACHINE Samuel' I. Snook, Mason, Louis Naveken, Cincinnati, and Charles G. Kehoe, Foster, Ohio, as.- signors to Remington Arms Company; Inc., Bridgeport,` Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application` December 10, 19,43, Serial No. 513,660

'I'he present invention relates to a gauging and sorting machine, particularly adapted for the height gauging and sorting of articles for the purpose of separating them into three groups, one of articles under the minimum gauge, another 0f articlesy within the gauge limit, and another of articles over the maximum gauge. n

While the invention may be employed for the gauging and sorting ofY various types of articles, it is especially adapted for the gauging and sorting of primer cups for cartridge cases, and which require that the height be gauged with extreme accuracy so th'at thev primer cup will fit accurately within the pocket in the head of the cartridge case, to the end that it will neither be so high as to interfere with the feeding of the cartridge in the gun, or so low as to prevent the proper engagement of the firing pin therewith.

It is an object oi the invention to provide a gauging and sorting machine into which primer cups'or othery suitable articles may be fedl promiscuously in large quantities and will thereupon be guided by gravity into relation` with a rotating gauge and feed screw element arranged to move the articles in relation to a series of heightk gauge elements, the latter being arranged to provide a series of gaps of increasing size through which the respective groups of primer cups pass by gravity.

Another object is to provide a gauging and sorting machine having only a single moving part, namely the rotating screw element, to the end that the machine will be of relatively simpleV construction and maybe operated continuously for long periods without requiring attention.

A further object is toprovide a gauging and sorting machine which may be operated at` relatively great speed so that large quantities of the primer cups may be gauged over a relatively short period.

Another object is to provide a gauging and sorting machine which lends itself to multiple unit arrangement with the use of a single power source and moving part, namely, the gauge and feed screw element, it being proposed to provide either one or a seriesof units along a singlel screw hav-ing feeding thread portions arranged respectively n relation to each unit.

With the above and` other object-sy in view, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, and this embodiment will be hereinafter more fully described withr refer'- ence thereto, and` the invention willy be: finally pointed out in the claims.

3 Claims. (Cl. 209-101) In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a gauging and sorting machine, according to the illustrated exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig.. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2'. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View, also on an enlarged' scale, taken' along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.' v y f Fig. 5 is a perspective View, partially broken away and partially in section, showing the operative passage of primer cups through the machine.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the 'several figures of the drawing. i

Referring to the drawing the gauging and sorting machine, according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated therein, comprises a supporting table' I0l upon which there is secured a raised platform I I to which is attached the horizontal base plate I2 of rectangular form. Vertical side plates I3-I3` are secured to the plate I'2` adjacent its si'de'edgesl by means of angle iron strips I4f welded or otherwise suitably secured tothe side plate and attached to the base plate b'y bolts; I5. The upper edges of thev side plates I'3--I31' are inclined downwardly and forwardly at an angle calculated as providing the desired gravity feed of the articles to` be gauged. and A sorted, this angle being for' instance of the.

order of 35. Rectangular recess -portions Iii-I6 are provided at the forward lower ends ofthe side plates in parallel relation to their inclined upper edges, and' have seated therein the ends of a transversely disposed" channel member I'I provided atv the lower endi of an inclined feed plate lsupported upon the upper inclined edges of the side plates and secured thereto by means of angle iron bars I 9-I9, welded or otherwise suitably secured tothe side plates and' secured to the inclinedI feed? plate by means of bolts 20; y 'At the upper end` of the inclined feed plate 'there "is provided an articlel 'receiving tray'r4 2`I,

preferably disposed'at aslightlyinclined'downward angle toward theA feed plate, and mounted upon a' bracket' arm' 22 secure'dto the underside of' the feed plate by bolts 23` and to the tray 2i by bolts 24', its outer end' being supportedby'a bracket arm 25 securedv at4 its lower endv to thev base plate I2v by means of'bolts 26 and at its upper end to the tray by' means of bolts 211. The for wardedge ofthe trayabuts the upper edge of the inclinedfeed plate I8`n flush relati'ornso that ,the articleswill slldel freely from the tray to the promiscuously poured or transferred from ai shaker plate, hopper or other sourceto the tray and are then hand fed or forced by accumulation to the inclined feed plate.

Upon the upper surface of the inclined feed plate I8 there are secured adjacent the side edges spacer bars Sil-30, curved at their upper end por-v tions to conform to the curved upper end of the feed plate, and between these bars there are provided guide bars 3| and 32, divergent at their upper ends to provide an entrance extending the full length of the tray,.and convergent at their lower ends so that the articles are guided by gravity'into a relatively narrow exit passage disposed in proximity to one side edge of the plate IB, for a purpose presently to be more fully pointed out. A short curved spacerbar 33 is preferably provided centrally of the entrance passage in parallel .relation between the curved upper ends of the bars .3D-30. A cover plate 34 preferably formed of transparent material is engaged over the inclined feed plate I8 in parallel spaced relation, being secured upon the upper surfaces ofthe bars 30, 3l, 32 and 33, and being retained at its upper end portion by means of spaced parallel transverse bars 35 and 36,-secured to the spacer` bars 30 and 33, the bar 35 being arranged along the upper edge of the cover plate, while the bar 36 is arranged slightly below the curved upper end portion. The cover extends for the full length of the guideway between the bars 3| and 32, so that the articles moving from the tray onto the inclined feed plate are positioned `and retained ,with either their upper or their lower ends resting upon the plate, an upset article being prevented from reaching the feed plate by the fact that the diameter of the article is greater than the height of the cover above the plate.. The articles A illustrated are primer cups of cylindrical form closed at one end, and of a diameter greater than their height.

The channel member |1 may be integrally formed with the inclined feed plate I8, or it may be separately formed and welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto, the upper inclined feed surface extending in a continuous plane to the channel 31 of the channel member. Within this channel there are secured by bolts 38 a series of gauge blocks, the first gauge block 39 being disposed at'the lower exit end of the guideway bc- Vtween the bars 3| and 32, the second gauge block 40 being disposed to the right of the vblock 39 and having its upper surface in a plane slightly below the plane of the upper surface of the block 39, and the third gauge block 4| being disposed to the right of the gauge block 40 and having its upper surface in a plane slightly below the plane of the upper surface of the block 40. This third gauge block 4| is provided at its right hand end with a recessed portion 42, which-constitutes in eifect a fourth gauge block having its upper surface in a plane below the plane of the upper surface of the third gauge block 42.

Disposed above the gauge blocks with its axis parallel to their upper surfaces there is provided a gauge and feed screw bar 43 journaled at its left hand end ina bearing block secured in a recessed end portion 45 of the channel member l1 by means of screws 46, and journaled at its right hand end in a bearing block 41 secured in a recessed end portion 48 of the channel member by means of screws 49. At its left hand end the bar projects -and is provided with a hand knob 50, while at its right hand end it is connected by a flexible coupling unit 5! to a short shaft 52 journaled in a bearing block 53 provided upon an extension shelf portion 54 at the right hand end of the Channel member. Upon the projecting end of this short shaft there is secured a pulley 55 driven'from a motor 56 by a drive belt 51.

'I he screw bar 43 is provided with a spiral thread 58 extending the length of the bar between the bearing blocks 44 and 41. Along the length of the first gauge block 39 at the convergent exit end of the guide passage of the inclined feed plate |8 the .pitch of the thread 58 is relatively small, and calculated as providing a space between each successive thread sufficient to comfortably receive one primer cup, while the pitch ofthe thread extending over the other gauge blocks is relatively larger so that as the articles are fed transverselyaway from the exit passage they are more wi'dely'spaced from each other and are moved atrelatively greater speed.

The lower ends of the guide bar 3| and the cover plate 34 extend into close proximity to the screw while the lower endof the guide bar 32 is spaced'upwardly from the screw to receive the end of an adjustable guide plate 59 disposed beneaththe lower end of the cover `plate and extending to the bearing block 41 'in parallel relation to the axis of the screw, being adjustably secured by screws 60 engaged through slots 6| in the plate. This plate forms an upper transverse abutment guide for the primer cups as they are fed over the gauge blocks by the screw.

A shield plate 62, preferably formed of transparent. material, is provided across the vcover plate 34 at a right angle thereto, being retained upon the upper ends of the bearing blocks 45 and 41 by means of angle brackets (i3- 63, this shield serving to prevent any of the articles which may be inadvertently forced from the tray onto the upper surface of the cover plate from reaching the feed screw, it being pointed out that in the event that an article of less than standard height fbe permitted to reach the feed screw over the upper surface of thecover plate it may move into engagement with the feed ,screw adjacent vthe gauge blocks 4| or 42, and be allowed to flow into the receptacles for receiving standard height or greater than standard height articles. The shield positively prevents this contingency.

The height of the first gauge block 39 is such that the gap between its surface and the feed screw is insufficient to allow any of the articles to pass through the gap, so that all of the articles are fed transversely into relation with the second gauge block 40. The height of the second gauge block iscalculated, so that the gap between its surface and the screw is suiiicient to allow passage through tlie gap of lthose articles of less than standard height, so that these will move by gravity through this gap where they drop over the lower inclined surface of the channel member I1 into a vertically disposed chute $4 through which they fall to an inclined guide chute 55 which directs them into a receptacle 66. The articles of standard height and of greater than standard heightv are carried from the second gauge block 40 to the third gauge block 4|, the height of which is calculated so that standard height articles within the gauge limits will pass through the gap between its surface and the screw, these articles flowing by gravity to an inclined chute 61 which directs them to a receptacle 68 mounted upon the upper side of the table I0. Articles of greater than standard height will be carried beyond the gauge block il to the gauge block portion 42, which is of sufficient depth so that all the articles which are carried beyond the gauge block 4l will pass beneath the screw where they drop through a vertical chute 99 to an inclined guide chute 'ID which directs them into a receptacle 'l l.

While the machine illustrated is a single unit type, that is, a single feed plate provided in relation to the screw, it is pointed out that the arrangement adapts itself to the provision of two or more units arranged side by side and cooperating with a common screw member, which in the case of a multiple unit machine extends along the several units and is provided in relation to each unit with a threaded, portion similar to that of the single unit.

The form of the invention illustrated in the drawing and described herein is typical and illustrative only, and it is evident that the invention is capable of embodiments in other forms, all falling within the scope of the appended claims, which are to be broadly construed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gauging and sorting machine, a feed pate having an exit passage for articles, a series of gauge elements of successively decreasing height extending transversely away from said exit passage in one direction, one of said gauge elements being in direct line with said exit passage, a transversely disposed gauge and feed screw element disposed in spaced opposed relation to said gauge elements adapted to feed articles parallel to its axis along said gauge elements, and providing a series of successively increasing gaps between said screw element and said gauge elements through which said articles are adapted to selectively pass according to their height measurement, and an abutment element extending along said gauge elements in spaced parallel relation to said screw element and adjustably mounted for adjustment toward and away from said screw element.

2. In a gauging and sorting machine, an inclined gravity feed .plate having an exit passage for articles at its lower end, a series of gauge elements of successively decreasing height extending transversely away from said exit passage in one direction, one of said gauge elements being in direct line below said exit passage, a transversely disposed gauge and feed screw element disposed in spaced opposed relation to said gauge elements and having a plurality of threads exposed at said exit passage adapted to feed articles parallel to its axis along said gauge elements, and providing a series of successively increasing gaps between said screw element and said gauge elements through which said articles are adapted to selectively pass according to their height measurement, and an abutment element extending along said gauge elements in spaced parallel relation to said screw element and adjustably mounted for adjustment toward and away from said screw element.

3. In a gauging and sorting machine, an inclined gravity feed plate having an exit passage for articles at its lower end, a series of gauge elements of successively decreasing height extending transversely away from said exit passage in one direction, one 0f said gauge elements being in direct line below said exit passage, the upper surfaces of said gauge elements being in inclined planes parallel to the plane of said inclined gravity feed plate, a transversely disposed gauge and feed screw element disposed in spaced opposed relation to said gauge elements adapted to feed articles parallel to its axis along said gauge elements, and providing a series of lsuccessively increasing gaps between said screw element and said gauge elements through which said articles are adapted to selectively pass downwardly by gravity according to their height measurement, said screw presenting a plurality of threads to said exit passage, and a plurality of chute means arranged to respectively receive articles passing through the respective gaps of said gauge elements.

SAMUEL I. SNOOK.

LOUIS NAVEKEN.

CHARLES G. KEI-10E.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 788,618 Widney May 2, 1905 1,022,655 Brine Apr. 9, 1912 1,947,116 Smith Feb. 13, 1934 735,396 McDonald Aug. 4, 1903 1,882,130 Fielder Oct. 11, 1932 1,456,216 Brightman May 22, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 184,524 German Apr. 16, 1907 207,058 German Feb. 19, 1907 

